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I'm in the market for some Bluetooth cordless cans.
Looking at spending £250-£300.
I've read a load of reviews but would like to hear some user testimony.
Priorities in order top to bottom:
Sound quality - pace rhythm and timing with detailing and sound-staging. Bass with weight and clarity that doesn't overshadow the rest of the spectrum.
Controls functionality/ease of use.
Battery life/ease of recharging.
Visual aesthetics.
Most use is going to be on passenger flights.
Go on, then... 😎
You might laugh at first but go try some AirPods
Rachel
I assume you'll be wanting noise cancelling if they are for in-flight use?
I wanted noise cancelling to drown out the radio & background chatter/noise at work.
Best advice is to go somewhere & try various pairs, somewhere with a good returns policy also. (John Lewis in my case)
In store I tried the Bowers & Wilkinson PX, they are a thing of beauty but i found them too stiff/rigid and uncomfortable, but the sound to my ears was fantastic.
It was then a toss up between the ubiquitous Bose Sound Comfort 35ii and the Sony WH-1000XM2.
Both felt comfortable and sounded great, the Sony just edged it as the Bose was connected to a sound station (1 minute clips of various styles of music) and I was able to plug my phone into the Sony plus the app had more functionality!
Fast forward a week, I was struggling to get comfortable wearing the Sony for any length of time, big ears, so I ordered a pair of Bose from Amazon to compare in the real world.
Ended up keeping the Bose & returned the Sony, just down to comfort really both sounded great and paired easily via Bluetooth, Sony seemed to have a longer battery life but both have a 10 minute quick charge to get 20/30% battery level.
Now six months later, I wear the Bose for upto 8hrs at a time, pleased with the sound quality, still get a wow moment when listening to stuff & hearing details for the first time, noise cancelling is very good manage to listen to TMS without hearing too much R2 workshop "banter!".
TLDR try before you buy.
B&W PX.
Yes, they are quite rigid at first but they get a lot better after a few hours and really need the 30 hours burn in to sound their best.
The noise cancelling is not the best apparently but it's good enough for me and you can adjust it via the app.
would corded be a better option for flights considering the amount of time they will ask you to turn off anything wireless?
If you get corded you can get adapters to give them bluetooth capability - I use a Sony one. And I can carry two adapters to give me loads of battery life if needed.
Corded will also allow you to connect to the inflight entertainment system as well, unless you also buy a transmitter.
would corded be a better option for flights considering the amount of time they will ask you to turn off anything wireless?
The B&W PX can be corded and can also be connected by USB, so the onboard DAC does the work.
I spent ages looking for some new headphones and landed up with the Plantronics Backbeat Pro 2.
The noise cancelling functionality is very similar to the Bose noise cancelling headphones but they are a lot cheaper and the battery is good for 24 hours or so.
They can be used corded or via Bluetooth and a clever sensor works or when you have taken them off / put them on and puts them in sleep mode or mutes calls depending what you’re doing at the time.
From the Guardian this week Guardian
I'm using the Voyager 8200 from Plantronics, which is essentially the same headphones as the Backbeat Pro 2 above, with added BT dongle to make it into a work conference call device. Excellent audio quality, great noise cancelling tested on multiple long haul flights, battery life seems endless. Comes with corded option if you do have to turn everything off. Well recommended
For me it was between the B&W P7's and the Sennheiser Momentum 2. I really didn't like the sound quality from the Sony QC 35's at all. Nor the look or feel.
I gave them both a test in a busy department store then purchased the M2's and have been delighted. Sound quality is impressive and a revelation, noise cancelling is efficient without being intrusive and I only notice it when I switch them off rather than when it is active.
Bass-wise, I love my techno/EDM and too much bass can ruin it. These are punchy without being overbearing and just right.
In general I love them and am very happy.
Edit.
If sound quality is top priority then cordless/Bluetooth is probably not the best. Having said that, many allow the option of using a cord. No biggie if your static on a plane?